Transitons
by xAnnabethChasex
Summary: (AusHun AU) Finishing college, engaged, and going home for Christmas, Elizaveta and Roderich are happy. But when they get home and Eliza meets Gilbert for the first time in years, will things be complicated?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After ringing several times without being answered, Elizaveta Hédarváry hung up the phone and decided to try again later. Her mother almost always picked up, but today had been different. She looked back to her notes, which she was tired of reading. Eliza was studying to be a military strategist, but the truth was that she really needed no schooling at all.

She had a strong mind that not need to be trained further. The only reason that she was here was because the Hungarian Military would not give her a job without a degree. Also, Roderich was not leaving college any time soon.

He had accomplished nothing academically in the past few years. Three years of college and thousands of dollars of music classes had done nothing for him, for nothing that anyone could teach him would surpass his natural ability. His parents had the money and he had the time, so he continued to go to school. He also liked having something to do, and didn't mind sharing an apartment with Eliza.

"Has she answered?" He asked her, not looking up from the keys of his piano.

"No. This isn't like her." Eliza replied, walking over to him.

"We could just show up. I don't think she'd mind." Roderich said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"She would be thrilled. But maybe not about this," Eliza said, flipping over her hand, revealing the ring on her finger, "well, not at first anyway."

Eliza's mother was very opinionated, and she didn't know what her mother would think about this. All her life, her mother had not approved of her boyish ways, and now Eliza worried what she might think about Roderich. She had never met him, so couldn't know that he was more feminine than other boys, or that his college major wasn't something that guaranteed him a job.

It didn't matter to Eliza though. They balanced out perfectly, but when the phone rang, she still wasn't entirely confident. She picked up the phone.

"What's wrong? You called four times!" Her mother exclaimed, speaking in thickly accented Hungarian.

"Nothing's wrong Mom, I just have news." Eliza replied, wanting to get it over with.

"Well, what is it?"

"Um," She looked at Roderich, who nodded. "I'm engaged."

The rest of the conversation was not exactly pleasant, but Eliza's mother did want them to come to Hungary for Christmas. She put down the phone, discouraged.

"What's wrong?" Roderich asked, beginning to play again.

"You're not what she was expecting. I mean, you're different. That's all." Eliza mumbled. She didn't want Roderich to hear that, because even though her mother may not approve, he was perfect.

"Yeah, I get it. I'm not Gilbert." Roderich said bitterly.

Eliza would never admit it, but that was the truth. Her mother had always prefered Gilbert, even when they were children. The three of them grew up together, Eliza and Gilbert were best friends. Roderich was always quiet, not leaving the house often, preferring to be inside with his piano. What Eliza and Gilbert had thought so strange years ago payed off in the end. Roderich played the piano beautifully, and was equally well mannered and intelligent. But to Eliza's mother, he just wasn't _Gilbert._ Where Roderich was small and thoughtful and meek, Gilbert was was tall and outspoken. Eliza loved the way that Roderich was, so maybe after her mother met him, she would understand.

"It doesn't matter, love." She said. He had always been insecure, and she tried to make that go away. She sat down on the piano bench next to him with her notes. He stopped playing.

"How long have you been studying that?" Roderich asked, noticing that she had been reading the same set of notes for hours.

"I don't know, but you know I have a final before Christmas." She replied. Eliza was studious and precise and was determined to do well on her test.

"You need a break." Roderich said, rubbing her back. She ignored this.

"Have you been studying?" She asked him.

He took the papers away from her. Eliza glared at him with her big green eyes.

"Come on. Its too late for you to be studying."

"Fine," She looked over at the clock, which read 11:23. "but I'm starved."

"Well, lets go get something to eat." Roderich said, standing up.

"Its midnight!"

"That's ok." He said, disappearing down the hall.

Eliza sighed and followed him. Their apartment was small, but it was all they needed. Their homes in Austria and Hungary were large, full of rooms and cellars and staircases. They liked the simplicity of the apartment, with just a few rooms and only one floor. She walked into their bedroom and found him looking for his coat.

"I can't find my coat or scarf." He said, rummaging through a closet.

Eliza looked over to the chair next to her and saw both of the items that he was looking for. She laughed and threw him both, and then put on her own jacket and shoes.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked her as they walked out of the apartment.

"Whatever's open." Eliza replied, winding her fingers around his.

Roderich had a car, but they did not use it often. Both of them liked walking, and since they lived in the city, everywhere they needed to go was usually in close proximity. The air in Oxford was considerably cleaner than the air in London, so inhaling large amounts of it left Eliza refreshed. Their apartment building was in the middle of the city, so it only took a few minutes to reach the business sector. The streets lined with shops and restaurants and banks was more alive during the day, but took on a certain light at night. Illuminated by the fluorescent lights making everything look different.

"It's too quiet out here." Eliza said to herself. There were a few other people walking down the streets, but not enough to make much noise.

"I thought you liked the quiet." Roderich replied, looking down at Eliza to find her eyes set on the ground in front of her. She did this when she was deep in thought, which sometimes scared him. The way she thought terrified him. How could someone be so pleasant, but have such dark thoughts? He didn't know, but decided that he didn't need to know. She directed all of the darkness towards war strategy, and was completely normal in everyday life. Even though it didn't matter, Roderich still longed to know how her mind worked. He loved everything about her, but had no idea what she was thinking.

"I do, but its hardly ever quiet at home." She replied, blinking. She was in somewhat of a trance, deep in thought. It was true, their apartment was always quiet, but never silent. Roderich was almost constantly playing his piano, but Eliza did not consider this noise. It was soft, nice background music which she had grown accustomed to. Now whenever he wasn't playing, she felt strange.

They walked down the street for a few more minutes before finding the first open restaurant. It was full of people despite the hour. Most of them appeared to be very drunk. Eliza and Roderich sat down at the table closest to the door. Neither one of them liked large social events, and this seemed to be one. They ordered pizza and wine and waited.

"Won't it be strange, leaving England. We're practically English now." Roderich thought.

"My mother won't be happy about it. But its just for Christmas. We still have another year of school to finish." Eliza replied, already dreading the return to Hungary. "But I know my mother will like you once she sees how you turned out."

Roderich was nervous about this too, for when they were children, Eliza's mother thought he acted too much like a girl. She also thought her daughter was too boyish, so she had obviously not seen her lately. Roderich remembered when they were younger and he even thought Eliza was a boy. There was no denying now that she was a girl.

"I hope so. You know that my mother has no problem with you." He told her. His parents were just happy that he had a girlfriend, no matter how boyish. He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

She was quiet for the next few minutes, and then they got their food. They weren't used to eating pizza in Austria or Hungary, but they found that in England there was all kinds of food, not just traditional English food. Perhaps there was more variety at home now, but neither of them had left England in three years. They had both been attending Oxford University, and had seen each other for the first time in years when they had begun school. Eliza, Roderich, and Gilbert had all been close as children, but as they become adolescents, they had grown apart, especially Eliza and Roderich. He had become more quiet than before, and Eliza's mother was determined to make her more of a girl. She didn't allow her to go outside as much, and Roderich hardly left his piano. They didn't like to think of this time, for they secretly longed to see each other. Even though Eliza was a bully to Roderich when they were very young, they were friends, and didn't realize it until they were separated. They didn't see each other for years, until they showed up at college and met again. They had changed so much, and had almost immediately fallen in love. Now they were engaged and lived together.

When they had finished eating, they walked home. Eliza was exhausted from studying all day, and Roderich was exhausted from sleep deprivation. Inside their apartment, they undressed and fell asleep almost immediately, Eliza's head on Roderich's chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Roderich woke up first. He always did, if he slept at all. He had struggled with insomnia all his life, but lately he had been sleeping better. Perhaps it was because he found comfort in stroking Elizaveta's long brown hair, and that he could every night now.

Roderich didn't want to get up. He enjoyed holding Eliza, and enjoyed seeing her so relaxed. It seemed that during the day, she was always doing ten different things. She was always studying and completing assignments, always reading several books at once, always getting phone calls from her mother. Eliza had to keep her grades up, for she had to go to school on scholarship. Her family didn't have the money that Roderich's had, so she had to try hard. It really wasn't a problem though, because she was extremely intelligent. Sometimes she pushed herself too hard though…

"Roderich!" She yelled from across the apartment. He stopped in the middle of making coffee and walked down the hall.

"What is it love?" He asked, not expecting her to be angry.

"You let me oversleep! You know that I have a test today!" She threw a pillow at him as he entered the bedroom, hitting him in the face.

"Calm down! Its not until ten!" He protested, only to be hit again by another pillow.

"God, you're such an idiot Roderich!" Eliza yelled before stomping past him and down the hallway, almost knocking him down. He knew very well that she could knock him down if she wanted to, for she had in the past. He thought nothing of this though. She got mad at him often, but it never lasted.

"Is this your coffee?" She called, still sounding mad.

"Yes." He replied, knowing that it wouldn't be his for much longer.

"I'm drinking it. I have to study too!" She mumbled some other things to herself, looking for her notes. Roderich walked back into the kitchen and made himself some more coffee.

"Are you sure you need to keep studying? I'm sure you know everything by now." He said.

"SHUT UP!" Eliza yelled, considering throwing the coffee at him. Even though he knew how particular she was, he always tried to convince her to not be. He just wanted her to relax, but he didn't understand that sometimes Eliza simply _couldn't _do that. She finished the coffee and went to take a shower.

"Where are you going now?" Roderich asked her as she ran back down the hall.

"To take a shower. Do not follow me."

He wished he could, but didn't. He thought of playing something simpler, since it was so early, but decided against it. Lately, he had been searching for more difficult things to play, but had found nothing. Everything was too simple, too slow. He had considered taking a break from playing all together, but when he tried this Eliza wanted him to play for her. And he couldn't tell her no…

"Roderich!" She called. He walked towards the sound.

"Yes love?" He rounded the corner and saw her head sticking out of the bathroom door.

"Will you make me some breakfast?" She asked, obviously not mad anymore.

"Sure," He said, "what do you want?"

"Surprise me." Eliza replied, beckoning Roderich closer. When he was close enough, she tugged him in by his shirt. "Sorry for throwing things at you." She whispered against his ear. He shivered under her, and when she pulled back, he cupped her face and kissed her. To his disappointment, she didn't invite him to take a shower with her, but to instead make her breakfast. He didn't mind though, for he was hungry too.

Eliza got dressed in clothes that looked similar to what she had worn the day before. All of her clothes looked similar, modest, functional, and mostly olive green. It was her favorite color after all, so today she picked out green jeans, a brown sweater, and her coat. Now that she was away from her mother, she could dress however she wanted. When she was younger, Eliza's mother made her wear dresses. Looking back, she had to admit that some of them were pretty, but she simply was not and never had been going or pretty. She saw no point in it, for she didn't like to dress up and Roderich didn't care. Even if he did, Eliza wouldn't change anything.

After eating the breakfast that Roderich had made her and kissing him some more, Eliza left for school. She was still worried that she hadn't studied enough, but Roderich told her multiple times that she would be fine. He didn't understand though, she couldn't just be _fine_. She was a perfectionist, but there was so much pressure on her grades. With her mother's daily phone calls, a scholarship to keep, and many other probably smarter people competing for the job that she wanted, there was so much pressure on her grades. If she were majoring in something less tedious, she might not have to stress so much. Roderich was studying music, which meant a little bit of music history and a lot of just practicing. He had natural talent though, and people respected a boy that liked to play the piano. They thought he was sweet and creative, though had a different opinion about a girl studying war. Eliza always got strange looks when she told people her major, and was the only girl in her class of thirty people. She didn't just want good grades to please her mother or to keep her scholarship, she had a point to prove.

Eliza walked into the class and took her seat, in the front, as usual. Sat in the front so she could hear the professor better, and to avoid getting hit on by the rest of the entirely male class. She was used to it, but it still bothered her. The boys in her war strategy class weren't like Roderich, and she wanted nothing to do with them. But when one of them sat down next to her, she knew exactly what to do.

She already had a book open, so she continued to read that. Though for once she was not expecting what happened next.

"Is that a ring?" The boy whose name she did not know asked her. She didn't realize that she hadn't been to class since Roderich had proposed, so nobody knew about it. Hopefully now they would realize that she had a boyfriend and would leave her alone.

"Yes." Eliza said simply, not looking up from the book.

"Like, an engagement ring?" the boy continued.

"Yeah, what else would it be?" She snapped, pulling the sleeve of her sweater over her hand.

"Gosh, I was just wondering. I didn't even know you had a boyfriend."

He was trying to distract her, trying to get her to say something stupid. She could tell that some others had started listening in now.

"Have for three years." Eliza mumbled, hoping that nobody would hear.

"Three years?" Someone said.

That was it. She hated when they picked on her, but hated even more that they were picking on Roderich. Even though they weren't directly insulting him, she was mad. She had to restrain herself from punching someone while cursed in fluent Hungarian. She did this often when she was mad, because Roderich didn't speak Hungarian, and nobody else knew that that was where she was from.

"Woah, what language are you speaking? What are you even saying?" The first guy that had mentioned her ring said. She promptly stood up and punched him in the face.

Not only did she make an A on her test, but she had put someone in their place. So that day, Eliza felt accomplished. Sure, she had other finals to study for, but this one was the most important. This one also had the most idiots in it. When she returned home that night, she found Roderich slumped over his piano. He hadn't had to go to any classes until after lunch, and he was already home.

"Roderich?" She said, locking the apartment door behind her and walking over to the piano. If he had fallen asleep, she didn't want to wake him up. He hardly ever slept…

"Yes love?" He said, picking his head up. He evidently had been asleep, because his glasses had left marks of his face where he had forgotten to take them off.

"Were you asleep?" Eliza asked as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah. I can't find anything new that I want to play...I was just waiting for you to get home." He replied, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing his usual outfit, a white button down shirt and dark jeans. Roderich always dressed nice, unlike the guys in Eliza's war class. She wanted to unbutton his shirt…

"How was your test?" Roderich asked, kissing her forehead.

"I made an A...and punched someone in the face." Eliza said.

"Oh no, what happened now?" He said, not surprised.

"Someone was picking on me about my ring, that's all. They won't bother me anymore though." She said, holding her hand out. The ring was still there, a deep purple-blue stone. Its color was similar to that of Roderich's eyes, which she loved.

"I forgot to ask, but do you like it?" Roderich said, squeezing her waist.

"I love it," She replied, "its not too fancy, not too glittery."

"Good." He said. He had intentionally picked something more plain, because he knew that she wouldn't like anything too fancy. Honestly, he was worried that she wouldn't say yes when he asked her to marry him. Even though they had been living together for a year, he wasn't sure that Eliza would want to get married. When she graduated college and got a job, he knew that she would be very serious and focused on that. On the other hand, he did not have a specific job that he was waiting for, and had no clue what he wanted to do. All Roderich knew was that he could play the piano, but could he make a living off of that? Some had, but he wasn't worried about that now. Eliza had said yes, she did want to marry him, and that was all he needed.

"Play something for me." She said, slowly rubbing his back.

"I told you, I can't find anything, and I've played everything I know so many times." He said, really not knowing what to play, and not wanting to remove his arms from around her.

"You should try writing something. I know you could." Eliza suggested, not wanting him to lose interest in playing. If he did, he had wasted years.

"I could," he said, "but not right now. Maybe I'll take a break over Christmas."

"I guess.." she mumbled, not wanting him to even take a break. The apartment was empty without the sound of him playing for her, since he did so often. She looked up from the piano keys to Roderich, who leaned down and kissed her. She slid her arms around his neck, and his hands moved down to her hips.

When she pulled away, she lied her head on his shoulder, his arms still around her. They sat like that for a long time, content. Later they went to bed, only instead of undressing themselves, they undressed each other, and completely. They didn't go to sleep for a while, but when they did, neither of them were worried about anything.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, they both had multiple classes. There were only four more days before Christmas break began, so Eliza was on edge. She had three more finals to complete, and also had to deal with knowing that she was about to spend a week with her mother. Last Christmas had been nice, her and Roderich had stayed at their apartment, which they had just begun to rent. They had a small tree, and had nobody over. Both being shy, they liked not having so much commotion. This year would be different though, because in Eliza's opinion, her mother is the equivalent of ten people, and Rodrich was secretly dreading seeing his parents again.

They did not treat him the way Eliza's mother treated her, thank God, but they would be shocked to see how much he had changed in three years. He had grown several inches, despite the fact that most people stopped growing before they were eighteen, Roderich grew until he was twenty. He looked so much older, and looked so much more like a boy than he had when he was a child. His hair looked more neat also, for he let Eliza cut it and fix it.

Roderich couldn't sleep, so he got up early and made coffee. Lack of sleep was taking a toll on him, and caffeine seemed to be the only thing that could help him. He made Eliza eggs and toast for himself. She woke up soon after, notebook in hand.

"I have so much to do today." She said, scanning the long list she had written down.

"Like what?" Roderich asked, sliding her plate of eggs across the counter to her and going to sit down next to her.

"Three classes today, two papers due tomorrow, two finals the day after that, another paper due…" She ran through her list. Eliza liked to make lists, though tended to rewrite and perfect her lists when she got stressed out, instead of doing the tasks on it.

"Do you have any of the papers already written?" Roderich asked, hoping that she wouldn't have too much work to do.

"I've started one, but I've had so much on my mind." She said, staring at her list, "You haven't been doing much this week. No papers, no tests?"

"I have two tests on Thursday, but thats all." He replied, hating how she had so much to do and that he had practically nothing. "When are we going to Hungary?"

"I haven't even thought about that!" Eliza exclaimed, her eyes widening. She began to add that to her list, but Roderich stopped her.

"I'll figure it out. Don't worry about it."

"You have to get plane tickets, there and back, and then figure out where the airport is in relation to my mother's house, and how we're going to get there, because God knows that she won't come and pick us up, and-" Eliza rambled, her mind going a hundred different ways, before Roderich cut her off.

"I've got it. Calm down." He whispered, pulling her against him. She sighed, relaxing slightly. She knew that she couldn't sit here long though, for she had a physics class that started in an hour.

"Class starts in an hour." She said, sitting back up and finishing her coffee. "I know that yours starts early too."

Roderich didn't want to think about going to class, and didn't want to go. He had thought about Eliza's suggestion to write some music instead of playing and replaying that written by others. He knew that he was capable of doing it, for he knew all of the notes and the sounds that they made. He knew what kind of pieces he liked to play, and knew that he could imagine a new one easily. Roderich would like to compose music, but had no inspiration right now.

Eliza got up and went to get ready for all of the classes she had today. There had been no time lately to wash clothes, and since she didn't own many, she had nothing to wear. Picking through the closet that her and Roderich shared, she pulled out one of his sweaters. Eliza liked wearing his clothes, for they were comfortably big but not too big. There was not that much of a size difference between them. She thought of what books and papers she would need to gather for the day while pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Pulling on her boots and putting on her coat, Eliza was mentally ready for the day. She stuffed all of her books in a bag and started running down the hallway, only to bump into Roderich, who was also running down the hall, just in the opposite direction. Both falling to the ground, they laughed and picked themselves up.

"Are you on your way out?" Roderich asked, noticing whose sweater she was wearing.

"Yes. I'll be home at about six or seven." She replied.

"Oh," he said, hating that she would be out so late, "well, enjoy my sweater." he added with a wink.

"What, were you going to wear it?" Eliza replied slyly, noticing that his cheeks were reddening.

"No, it looks better on you anyway." Roderich said.

"I have to go." she said regretfully, taking his face in her hands and kissing him several times before rushing out the door and down the stairs, onto the sidewalk. Oxford was not far from their apartment, considering that they were living in the student apartments. Originally, they had both been living in dorms with roommates, but decided that they would be better off in a bigger space and with each other. Roderich's parents hadn't thought highly on the decision, but Eliza's mother was happy, since it was saving her money.

Her first class of the day was on one of the upper floors, so she quickly walked up several flights of stairs and arrived at the room at nine a'clock exactly. The class began a few minutes later, and she took more notes, adding the the endless stack of papers she had to study tonight. Eliza considered starting on one of the papers that she had to write tonight, but decided against it, for she might miss something important if she stopped listening. When the lecture was over two hours later, she had filled seven entire pages, front and back, with new notes to study. She stuck them in her binder and rushed to the next class, which she would be late to. Her professors had no sense of time, or any knowledge that their students had other classes that they had to attend on the same day.

She was thankful that she didn't have her war strategy class today, even though that was Eliza's favorite subject. She reminded herself that she liked the class for the content, not the other people in it. Eliza had a few acquaintances in other classes, but no real close friends. It wasn't that there weren't any nice people around, it was the cultural divide. People behaved differently in England than they had in Hungary. This wasn't bad, but Eliza knew that she wouldn't be here much longer, so she shouldn't get too comfortable.

She didn't have time to eat lunch, so by the time it was three, Eliza was starving and exhausted. Roderich had left for his class a little later than her, and was in the school right now, just on the other side. They longed for each other.

Roderich's classes were easy. A little music history and an english class was all that he had today, so by the time it was four, he went home. Eliza was not there, and it felt empty. He supposed he could study, but for once he was actually tired. His mind never seemed to stop, which was why he hardly slept. Having Eliza in bed with him was comforting, but it was also a distraction, another thing to keep his mind racing. Roderich couldn't simply sleep with her there, he wanted to listen to her breathe, stroke her hair, run his hands up and down her back. Since she wasn't here, he thought that perhaps he could sleep. He got in bed with his notes and read over them several times. Then he layed down and fell asleep faster than he had in a long time.

After the final lecture of the day was over, Eliza jammed her papers and books into her bag and slowly walked home. She got some soup on the way home, assuming that Roderich had gotten himself something to eat earlier. When she had tried to open the apartment door, it had been locked. Wasn't Roderich home? Eliza unlocked the door and let herself in, wondering why he hadn't left the door unlocked. He wasn't sitting at his piano where he usually was. Upon walking into the bedroom to change clothes, she found Roderich asleep under scattered papers. His glasses were still on. She sighed.

She didn't know if she should wake him up or not, since he rarely slept. But she wanted to at least lay down next to him. When she climbed onto the bed and put all of the notes on the nightstand, she noticed several things. First, she saw that his hair was messy. She wanted to run her hands through it, and to kiss him while she did. Eliza also saw that his shirt was unbuttoned a little bit…

Roderich's eyes flew open. "Hello love." He said, still half asleep.

Without saying anything, Eliza began to kiss him. He didn't protest, but put his arms around her hips and kissed her back. She unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders, and he slowly pulled the sweater over her head. Roderich kissed Eliza's neck as she ran her fingers through his messy hair. She took his glasses off, and then realized something.

"Roderich," She said, pulling back, startling him, "I have two papers to write."


End file.
